Owls Earn No. 2 Seed in Coral Gables Regional

The Florida Atlantic University baseball team will be making its 12th NCAA Regional appearance as the No. 13 Owls were selected as the No. 2 seed in the Coral Gables Regional.

FAU will take on Long Beach State in the opening round on Friday, June 3 at 1 p.m. before facing either host Miami or fourth-seeded Stetson in the double-elimination bracket. The Owls split the season-series 1-1 with two games at Miami and did not face LBSU or Stetson in 2016.

"I think it's a good field," FAU Head Coach John McCormack said. "Miami of course is Miami, Long Beach State has been to Omaha, we're a good national program and Stetson has a great history and has been working at baseball long before a lot of schools were. I'm excited about the field and looking forward to getting down there and playing some baseball."

The selection marks FAU's third regional in the last four seasons for the Owls, who last appeared in the Coral Gables Regional in 2005. Overall, FAU has been in the Coral Gable regional six times with eight wins in those tournaments. FAU will be looking to advance to its second Super Regional after winning the Tuscaloosa Regional in 2002.

"If there's a group that's going to make a super regional, it's this one. We're a tight-knit group of guys." FAU senior Billy Endris said of his third Regional appearance. "I've got one left, so I might as well make the best of it and go to the Supers."

The Owls boast an overall record of 38-17 after winning the Conference USA regular-season championship and have been ranked nationally since the first polls of the season were released.

FAU ranks in the top 30 in the nation in double plays turned, ERA, win/loss percentage, WHIP, walks allowed, fielding percentage and sacrifice flies. Junior CJ Chatham ranks 19th in the country in hits and 39th in total bases while closer Cameron Ragsdale is fifth in the nation in saves with 15.

FAU owns eight wins over ranked teams, including three against Top-5 squads, and has six All-Conference honorees on the roster. CJ Chatham was named the C-USA Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year while pitchers Brandon Rhodes, Marc Stewart and Ragsdale earned Second Team All-Conference honors. Nick Swan and Tyler Frank were each named to the league's All-Freshman team